Duffy not to run for Europe…
No great surprise to hear that tonight that (as predicted last night on Citybeat radio) Colin Duffy’s eldest daughter announced he would not be standing for Europe, citing the shortage of time to get a full blown campaign together… Instead the family will be concentrating on a campaign to have him released from jail. There was a small crowd of about 100 outside the locked gates of Kilwilkie Community Centre in the pouring rain… Again, understably, the council refused to let the group use the hall for its meeting tonight
Why is it understandable? 100 ppl from the community refused permission to use the community hall?
Some of us remember SF locked outside the gates of Stormont, they got their feet under the table eventually….?
I think the shinners are going about things the wrong way.
I think they realised the support just wasnt there for Duffy standing.
Correct move by the family.
Mick,
… understably, the council refused to let the group use the hall for its meeting tonight
Does this not remind you of the (in)famous case of FAIR in Newry and Mourne a few years back? The Councillors were (IIRC) surcharged and/or barred from office for that. What is the difference here? Surely you do not support the denial of some (perhaps unpopular) members of the community the use of a community centre, Mick?
On the broader point, it is a pity Duffy will not stand, as we will not have the opportunity to see how small his support really is, and we’ll have to endure the pretentions of the dissidents armchair generals at their keyboards for a while longer ….
“On the broader point, it is a pity Duffy will not stand, as we will not have the opportunity to see how small his support really is, and we’ll have to endure the pretentions of the dissidents armchair generals at their keyboards for a while longer ….”
I just wonder about that. Of course, I don’t have a feel for whether there is disaffection with SF, or a will to “vote dissident”. But there is certainly disaffection with the DUP on the unionist side. Being in government generally erodes ones popularity.
I am disappointed but not surprised that Duffy has chosen not to run – he would have been humiliated. I hope that another candidate now steps forward.
Even allowing for the fact that the mainstream media routinely ‘underestimate’ the numbers at these gatherings – the Tribune will probably tell us 1,000 people – it is a woeful night for the dissidents and their discredited cause.
Locked out in the rain – sums it up really.
Sophie,
These meetings are advertised on republican websites. A substantial proportion of the tiny crowd probably drove a long distance to be there.
It’s a pity he didn’t run, it would have been a good opportunity for republicans to have expressed dissatisfaction with Sinn Fein.
On the broader point, it is a pity Duffy will not stand, as we will not have the opportunity to see how small his support really is, and we’ll have to endure the pretensions of the dissidents armchair generals at their keyboards for a while longer ….
Well said, Horseman.
However I’m sure there are a lot of others who could step forward. Let’s see if they do.
why would they have travelled miles picador? all a conspiracy is it? wise up. I’ve read your posts on here and you have nothing to say. You are a dull contributor with wishy-washy opinions, and you can’t say what you stand for.
picador, i think you’ll find there is no time left..
Well, obviously I don’t agree with you, conor.
Ball not man, please guys…
Mick
It is somewhat ironic that you start a thread on censorship and follow it up with a reference to the ‘understandable’ attempt to censor people by a Council by refusing them usage of a hall….
It would indeed be interesting to see if the family took legal action against the Council.
It wasn’t just the Duffy family locked out tonight. Other user groups of the community centre were also locked out by the arbitrary decision to shut the centre. That included groups such the weekly yoga class. No-one was told until council officials ordered the place shut before tea-time.
At the end of the day, what this amounted to was that unionists took an arbitrary action against the local community and not just one group within it..
conor,
i think you’ll find there is no time left..
There is until 16.00 tomorrow (Thursday). Time enough.
LR,
It was probably for the best that the yoga was cancelled. Gangs of yahoos running around is not conducive to inner peace.
BTW who is standing – or should that be flying – for the Natural Law Party this time around?
I’d have thought Craigavon councillors had enough experience of being surcharged for one lifetime… but anyway, Duffy is not running because he knows he would have been stuffed.
It will be unfortunate if no republican stands. It would be interesting to see the level (or not) of dissatisfaction that exists with the performance of the Provisional Alliance.
‘It will be unfortunate if no republican stands.’
But surely the Worker’s Party is standing?
Sammy
correct- and the decision not to run was, therefore, a smart one by Duffy and his supporters; doing so would’ve exposed the paucity of support for the ‘non-Sinn Fein’ republican stance, and it also would’ve galvanised (to some degree) support for Sinn Fein amongst the more light green voting bloc.
All in all, it’s just confirmed my view that Dodds will top the poll by a comfortable margin.
joxer, is that a misprint for ‘joker’?
Pancho,
They have virtually no support. That’s why he didn’t stand.
Chris,
Let’s just say it has been a long day… Fair point, well made…
Duffy may not be the best candidate but lack of votes for him would not necessarily indicate lack of support for the anti-Treaty republicans. I can even remember when the stoops used to taunt the Provisional Alliance with their poor showing at the polls. How the wheel turns! A lot of green voters will swing in behind the “government” party to keep the other “government” party out.
Wonder what form the campaign to have Duffy released from jail will take? Maybe something like, I don’t know, a court case?
Was hoping he would run and show the world how little support he and his gang have.
Mick, can you fix the “understandably” bit. I assume it was a slip and not intended. I don’t agree with any aspect of Duffy’s politics but the council had no legal reason to block his use of that hall and they’d get their ass kicked – rightly – in court if he decided to challenge it.
Pancho:
Duffy may not be the best candidate but lack of votes for him would not necessarily indicate lack of support for the anti-Treaty republicans.
Does the same apply to the Alliance Party ?
No,Comrade. The Real IRA are real and the Alliance Party is a figment of the NIO’s imagination. Any more questions?
All in all, it’s just confirmed my view that Dodds will top the poll by a comfortable margin.
You ramping, Chris? Or are there really too many yellow votes on the early canvass?
The Real IRA are real and the Alliance Party is a figment of the NIO’s imagination. Any more questions?
Yes. Do you actually believe your own bullshit?
Sorry. I thought for a second you were being serious.
Sammy Stalin and Comrade Morse, I was merely being logical. The Real IRA shot two soldiers. Therefore they exist. Therefore they are real. I have no knowledge or proof that the Alliance Party exists. I rest my case. But, TO BE SERIOUS, are either of you saying that all republicans have fallen in behind “Sinn Féin” and there is no dissent? Sadly out of touch. Whether it ever amounts to a real challenge or goes back into the thatch to fester, who knows?
But, TO BE SERIOUS, are either of you saying that all republicans have fallen in behind “Sinn Féin” and there is no dissent?
No. That would be silly.
But I don’t think the Real IRA’s message of violence has many takers, and I don’t think that militant dissident republicanism is the only outlet for dissent from the Sinn Fein narrative.
My point was that you can’t legitimately draw any conclusions from people who don’t vote, other than that, well, they didn’t vote (for whatever reason).
Comrade,
I totally concur with your view of this group and the view that they should not be refused use of public facilities.
We should have nothing to fear from words; they can be easily countered.
I see Mick has deleted the understandably. I would assume he meant understandable from the council’s point of view and not his own, given his fairness track record and belief in public discussion.
I’m sure there are many genuine people trying to help Afghanistan and Iraq but the other side of the coin are the blood lusting killers of civilians. One aspect doesn’t necessarily negate the other. You weren’t referring to the stoops as the alternative, were you, Comrade?
Pancho, you seem to be desperately searching for a point in my contributions that I haven’t made.
I’m merely saying that it’s not possible to ascribe any political beliefs to people who don’t vote. I’m not saying they are – or are not – anything in particular. It’s a bit like the “one million unionists” crap the unionists have thankfully stopped repeating.
Word is he wanted to stand but was prevented from doing so.
By whom?
If I told you I’d have to kill you, Sammy. And as I’m already looking forward to your constituency profiles for the next election I don’t want to do that.
Seriously that’s all I know for now. RIRA/ÓnhÉ would be my best guess – but that’s all it would be.
All I’m saying Comrade, is that if the “SinnFéin” vote was x and at the election it is less than x, then it is fair to presume that those voters have turned away from their previous opinion.
Pancho, no it isn’t “fair” to say that. When you say that they have turned away from their previous opinion, that means they have changed their beliefs which is not necessarily true. People can get complacent and ambivalent while still holding the same views.
Hi Chris,
Barring members of a community use of a community hall – wrong.
Barring members of the public from walking public roads – I’m guessing also wrong ;0)
Yeah or nay?
Put it like this, then, Comrade. They don’t feel as strongly about supporting “Sinn Féin” as they did. How can you be ambivalent and still hold the same view? Surely one can’t hold two opposing opinions at the same time?
Pancho,
Wind your neck in. You mob can’t even put up a candidate. They are running scared of their ‘own’ people. Pathetic!
Pancho, I’m sorry that it’s inconceivable that someone might be less excited about Sinn Fein’s ideas without actually being dissenting. I don’t see the point in wasting any more time trying to explain what for most people is a very straightforward matter.
Pancho,
If I read Comrade Stalin right, he is saying that if you don’t put a candidate up yourself then you can’t claim victory or vindication just because the other guys vote went down: without standing you’ve no proof.
A drop in the Home Rule vote does not automatically translate as an endorsement of the old school, but it could be interpreted as a possible factor (along with boredom, rain on the day etc.). In the same way a vote for the chucks doesn’t rule out a sneaking regard or sympathy for their former comrades.
There are no surpises here. There is nothing new. Without the emotional fuel reliably and historically provided sooner or later by the incompetence of unionists/brits, nationalists (except for a tiny minority) have rarely in the last two centuries been up for it. They aren’t radical by nature; they’re a conservative catholic electorate and subversive chaps have rarely been popular.
But the problem is, in nationalist Ireland, the history of the few rather than the many has tended to be the one remembered and celebrated and arguably therefore, vindicated by posterity.
picador, you presume a lot. Comrade, I am stating that if less people vote for “Sinn Féin” this time then less people support them this time. I make no comment on where the votes go/don’t go – just that they have less support. Can’t you grasp this simple thing?